


During SCP 5: The Homunculus

by After_SCP



Series: During SCP [5]
Category: SCP Foundation, World of Darkness (Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 12:57:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18261752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/After_SCP/pseuds/After_SCP
Summary: A origin story for SCP-030.





	During SCP 5: The Homunculus

England 1644

At night, a guy is trying to get inside a library, an older man in the street, is looking at him laughing. Elgar jumps out of surprise. How can a short elder with a cane can quickly come out of nowhere like that. The little man with the bushy eyebrows present himself.  
“Hi my name is Athelstan Snelling. I think I know what you re trying to find in there.”  
Elgar tries a mind trick with his magic.  
“Nothing to see here sir.”  
“A reality bender. Of course... You might know as much as I know of what's hiding in there.”  
Elgar steps back.  
“Tell me exactly who you are.”  
“I don't want any trouble. Just finding out what Henry Percy left behind in the dungeon. Like you I presume. To prove my good faith, I can go retrieve something for you in there.”  
It's useless to continue to pretend. Elgar Wylmot can sense there is something about this old stranger but he doesn't know what it is. Why not letting him try. At worst this “Athelstan Snelling” can take the blame.  
“If you are willing to. I wanna retrieve the journal of an alchemist under his tutelage, the awaken named Ufeus.”  
Snelling accepts and turns into a cloud of leaves and enters the building through the bars of the window. It takes less than 2 minutes. The leaves fly out and return to the form of the old man.  
“I see you are a fairy.”  
Athelstan shows a small booklet.  
“ Yes mister Wylmot and together we'll find Percy's portal!”

Geoffrey and his younger sister Mary are playing with wooden balls trying to make them roll to knock out as much wooden pins as possible. For hours they play outside just next to the house on the ground with no grass. Every time they place everything back into place a little more slowly than the shot before. They might still live in a beautiful house form their time but the 2 kids know for sure that they are moving often and they have no friends, or some feeling of attachment toward a community. In the modest house, the Bradston parents are talking.  
“We wont always be able to move away to another house!”  
“You know I think about it constantly. Denise”  
“We are on the wrongest side of History honey...”  
Piers, the dad, gets a little bit frustrated.  
“Like it's my fault, you don't care about Cavaliers and Roundheads as well!”  
“Of course I don't, politics isn't a very lady's thing anyway. I only think about God first and my family second.”  
“Then go with the Parliament then if you believe the King isn't God chosen one.”  
“The next leader is going to say he speaks with God also anyway... OK I understand you honey. You aren't doing this like some sort of perfect plan, more out of survival. We'll find a solution together, if God ear my prayers, Everyone will just come to their senses and no King or Parliament, only the scriptures as our law.”  
Piers sees the 2 kids wrestling outside through a window. He runs outside.  
“Oy! What are you doing?”  
“I told Mary that if I can defeat her, I win the pin game!”  
“What kind of game logic is this? God knows what was you real intent.”  
“To win and have fun?”  
“Never forget there is no fighting in heaven and a lot of fun young man. You to Mary don't let him convince you so easily.”  
The father was about to return inside but a man on an horse arrives. The man is a friend of Piers and he looks sad.  
“Hi George.”  
“Their seems to be nothing to spare here either.”  
“No... War and bad harvests everywhere... It's like England is cursed.”  
Little Mary is by her dad's side.  
“God hates war father.”  
“Yes he does Mary.”  
The man with a mount continues.  
“There's a man in London that might help us...”  
“London? Have you lost your mind? You want to escape plague famine and war in London?”  
“Of course not! Let me explain. It's isn't about moving to the new world colonies either.”

Few days later George, Piers and Geoffrey are now in London. Piers brought his son with them during the voyage to show him the city and to prepare him to be a man. They are walking in the street and are in front of the house of the person that might help get through those hard time. George knocks at the door, Elgar Wylmot answers from the inside.  
“George Booth! It's been a while my friend. Good to see nothing happened to you.”  
“Well I'm all right but I hope things are getting better soon. This is my freiend named Piers Bradston, I triyng to help him find food for his family of 4. They had to flee the fights between the Roundheads and the loyalists many times.”  
“Sad. Look I can't help you or your friend family. Time is hard for everyone...”  
the sights of Athelstan inside the home and of the young Geoffrey at the door cross.  
“Let your friend enter Elgar!”  
After a few presentation the Bradston family explains the amount of found and supply they would need. Athelstan promises them to go seek help to a rich friend of his. The old guest and Elgar just have few things to talk about before they can go. The 3 unannounced guests tell Snelling they would wait for him at a near church. George and the 2 Bradstons leave. Wylmot and his new fairy partner decipher the cryptic reading and the magic secrets together as best as they can. They understand that they must find the Janus gate inside the Tower of London. They must prepare a plan to spy on the place first before going directly for the gate after they confirmed the location of the portal. The fairy will found the portal by flying in his leaves cluster form and once they found the Janus gate, They both can rush to it by the alchemist turning the wall in front of him into paper, and will activate the portal form them to access the secret magic city. Athelstan will start searching in few days, the fairy leaves for the church where the family that he wants to help waits. Over there, few minutes later, the old man and the the father and son talk about each other and learn more about each other. Snelling talks about a rich old friend, alone and with a lot of food to spare, Snelling is willing to asks food to him on the behalf of the family. After shaking hands and exchanging addresses, the supernatural being asks Geoffrey if he would want a new toy. The boy is thrilled! Piers is suspicious but seeing his children bored without friends breaks his heart, inside his head he secretly asks God to blame only him if the decision backfires and to forgive the 2 kids, the young ones always want to play. The visitors and Snelling bid farewell to each other.

After his visit to his friend with a lot of spare food, Selling is on his horse in direction of a second friend, Jerome Cod. Snelling surprise his friend, Jerome is suspicious of many strangers these days for the same reason than anyone in England, the civil conflicts. When Jerome recognizes the fairy, he lets him enter his home. The 2 old friends reconnects, they share a friendship from many years, both admitted to each other something they hide to others. Snelling his true nature, Jerome his Jewish faith. Athelstan explains the reason of his visit.  
“I have a very special request. For the time we spent together we both think outside the box now. We know better than those silly Christians rivalry. I want to help a family having happy days in this troubled time. Would you help me with a special gift I want to give the children of this family?”  
“What kind of gift were you thinking about?”  
“The perfect doll, a real friend. A sentient construct!”  
Jerome raises an eyebrow.  
“It could be interesting and challenging, Have you thought about where to begin?”  
“I was thinking of something like a small golem or a mandragora...”  
“More like both, a plants based clay golem. It could be easily made into something the children could found eye pleasing.”  
“So? You could make it and I could finish the work?”  
“You want me to make a clay doll so you can give it life for some children? Well coming from anyone else I would call them evil. But for you maybe. After all, if your power are borrowed and not under control like you send, this being might be pure and neutral.”  
“Yes a being created by nature from the materials and by humanity from you. The elements and you just have to let me do the trick.”  
“ My curiosity and the fact that you are the one who help me grow the mandrake mean that I accept.”  
Athelstan spends 2 days in visit at Jerome's while the host sculpts the small golem with clay mixed with mandrake. Jerome also makes a little casket to carry the clay doll. Athelstan will be ready tomorrow to start traveling at the Bradston's.

A couple of minutes after the good Samaritan arrival, Piers and Denise are cooking a good meal, a rare and happy occasion. They can finally gives something special to eat. Denise wonders.  
“If this man really a gift from God?”  
“I don't know. What if God's wishes we are generous with each other?”  
“Don't try to confuse me.”  
While the parents are looking at the window, Mary, Geoffrey and the fairy are talking.  
“any of you 2 ever had a doll?”  
Mary answers.  
“Yes but I lost it in the woods. At another house before this one.”  
“Like you can see, I am very old. Even older than I look. With the help of me inventor best friend, We used to make the best machines and also the best toys for the children.”  
“What is a machine?”  
Snelling gets the 5 foot tall coffin.  
“Oh! It's heavy!”  
The 2 children helps him. The wooden box is now on the ground. Snelling opens it to reveal the doll. Piers joins the group outside at the moment when the fairy was putting the homunculus. The father is very surprised.  
“What is this thing?”  
Athelstan is insisting on the fact that there is nothing wrong with the doll. The old fairy tells the heartbreaking stories of young ones he used to know like Mary and Geoffrey. The times are rough. Athelstan becomes emotional talking about children who had short unhappy lives. Even if Piers tries to upraise the old man, he can't find the right words. The 2 kids are now also insisting on having the doll. Piers reluctantly agrees. Geoffrey and his sister are jumping from happiness.  
“I promise you wont regret this! It could help you in some shores... eventually...”  
“What do you mean this doll is alive?”  
“Not yet, but we can do it all together, with the creation's grace flowing through us it could awake. You wont even have to feed your new friend. Like a plant, sun light will nourish it or it will fall asleep until another exposure to the sun rays.”  
The family is confused. Athelstan asks everyone to hold hands around the doll. Unknown to the sleepers, the fairy lets go a part of his own of existence essence too humanity and nature like he tried his best to explain without sounding pagan and insane. The eyes of the doll made with 2 little precious stones light up. The doll is siting. Athelstan is incredibly happy with the result.  
“Welcome into our world my friend. Pleased to meet you.”  
“Welcome?”  
“Yes. This is the Bradston family.”  
The creator presents them one after another with a simple hand gesture.  
“This is Piers,M ary and Geoffrey and I am Athelstan Snelling.”  
The homunculus repeats the names by pointing the right person.  
“Yes exactly.”  
Snelling looks at the family.  
“My friend Jerome and I are good inventor, our new friend will surly be a fast learner.”  
“You need a name too.”  
“Name?”  
“Yes, Piers, Marie, Geoffrey, Athelstan, Jerome... A name just for you. You usually don't choose your. It is given to you by your family. Any one of you go a name for our new family member?”  
After few seconds of thinking, Mary as an idea.  
“Ariel!”  
Everyone seems to like it. The homunculus looks at itself.  
“I... am Ariel...”  
The kids are full of energy and happy, they want to present Ariel to Denise. Athelstan and Piers help the small construct to do his first steps. They all enter the house.

One season has passed and Ariel as learned as much as a young adult. The conflicts against the king's soldiers and the Parliament's ones is still getting bigger unfortunately and the family have to move again to insure their safety. Piers is ready to load the 2 chariots. He takes the first crates outside. The Bradston father is surprised to see the homunculus working under the wagon with Geoffrey following his directions. As Piers gets closer, he can see the upgrades on their transport.  
“What are you doing Ariel?”  
“I hope you will appreciate to simple changes. I made a suspension for the wheels frame so the wagon can take the not perfectly flat terrain more easily. I have also put compartments for tools and extra wheel part and I made the seats more comfortable.”  
Piers is stunned. The knowledge of the living doll is increasing so fast. The man has before him a very advanced wagon for his time, a real anachronism. Young Mary runs outside of the house in direction of her dad and Ariel.  
“Ariel you are so imaginative!”  
“I lack the physical strength to help you carry your belongings but I am trying to help other way.”  
The family continues to get ready to move again. The parents are tarting to loose hope. They are farmer and cannot find anywhere to settle. How long before George can no longer help them.

5 months have passed. Wylmot and Snelling have a plan. They might have found the entrance to what they where looking for, Alagadda, the magical city. They discover trough many different magic writings that the door is hiding in in the Tower of London of all places. Logical since Henry Percy was detained there. They think they can sneak in and cast the right spell not to get destroy by the portal. They suspect the denizens of the secret eldritch city don't let anyone in. Elgar is crafting a special teleportation stone. Snelling can used his contract power to fly in like the wind again, but the alchemist needs another way in more sneaky than turning the walls into paper. After thinking about it earlier, since the wind form permits to carry few belongings on one self, like clothes, Athelstan will carry the stone. Once at the magic portal, the fairy will summon the wizard with the item he enchanted. Late during the night, the 2 friends are in the street of London trying to avoid patrols. They have look at maps of the city and of the Tower of London to optimize their paths. They succeed to advance and hide from the law enforcers. They are now at the wall of the building, near the precise tower in which they understand the entrance is. Elgar asks his friend if he is ready to ride the leaves. Snelling is thrilled, He will sure find a way to return to Arcadia in Alagadda. His connection with autumn serves his purpose again. Riding the wind, the first intruder flies over walls, inside windows, through corridor and reach the portals, by first going inside a crack in a wall to hide the anomaly. The extra planar re materialize with the stone of calling still in his pocket. He slips his fingers in the motion Wylmot told him and few seconds later, the alchemist appears.  
“Well this was to easy...”  
“They made a special inside wall to hide it, it's night, so yes, it is not guards posted here. But we should remain silent.”  
“Or just enter the portal right now. We succeed.”  
Elgar chants the Atlanteans words and the partners jump in, hoping everything did work. On the other side, they are in a public space for citizen in front of hat seems to be a important city building. They must have succeed. A crowd of weird looking masquerade chitin people gather around the 2 new guys. The sky is yellow and the stars are black. 4 men advance forward and talk for the crowd.  
“I am the assistant of the Black Lord. Those are my partners The assistants of the White, Yellow and Red Lords. Your talent will be most useful here.”  
The White assistant starts talking.  
“An Arcadian and a Moros. If you want a place in this sanctuary where your research wont be suspicious, you 2 will have to serve Alagadda first.”  
Snelling and Wylomt look at each other.  
“What kind of service?”  
The Red assistant answers.  
“Don't worry it's more like work.”  
A group invites the 2 new citizens to follow them. Overly outnumbered, Snelling and Wylmot have to go along.

Few years lather, Marie and Geoffrey are young adults. They successfully escape the rampage of the war. Mary is seeing a man that she thinks she likes. Mary, Willis and their chaperone are passing time together. Meanwhile, Geoffrey and Ariel are with the parents. Both are now very sick. This event as harden Geoffrey. Ariel is trying to give some hope to his friend, but Geoffrey is thinking about the future for now since he has to live his grief slowly in the present. Piers and Denise are trying to explain that they are ready to reunite with God, they did their parts. The dreadful days finally happen and the Bradston parents pass away. Both children try to move on by focusing on the incoming wedding of Mary and Willis.

Life continues and the seasons pass. The family Mary founded has grow. Willis and her have 2 childrens. With the sisters and brothers of her husband the sister Bradston is better set in life than Geoffrey who works as a farmer. Ariel tries to help him with his shores but the neighbors are suspicious. Geoffrey is tired of this place. One morning he asks Ariel to have a serious talk. Geoffrey wants a new life, in a new place, like America. Ariel understands. England is a small archipelago compares to the continent the colonies have only explored the east coast. When Ariel seems interested to discover the new world too, his best friend and one of the first person he ever meet tells the little construct somethings very saddening.  
“I don't think I can smuggle you in the ship and you can't either be revealed to so much strangers at the same time.”  
Ariel is anxious. What while happen without Geoffrey? The homunculus talks for many hours with Geoffrey, trying to find some common ground. At the end, Bradston agrees to help Ariel find a new home in England. Few days later after visiting Marie to ask her if Ariel could stay with them, Willis and her rejected the offer by fear of being called sorcerers. The day of the ship leaving for the North-American colonies is coming close. One night Geoffrey does something that breaks his heart, but something he must do to travel to the new world safely without being the center of attention for the wrong reason. Since Ariel “turn off” without light, one night, he forces himself to put Ariel inside a casket and bury it next to the river Thames further down, away from the city. After his grim task completed, for the rest of his life, Geoffrey will live with the guilt of what he has done. The man eventually grows old in new England, but every time the child good memories haunts him to much. He tries to rationalize the fact that light would awake Ariel like if it was sleeping even after centuries or more even.

Few years ago.  
A team of construction workers are building a bunch of new houses for a new extinction of resident zones for London. The job is particularly depressing this time. They found 3 caskets belonging to children that died during the black plague the scientists that analyzed it said. No one is surprised when they find a fourth small casket. A crack in the container lets the sun light reach Ariel. For the rest of the day Ariel's new friend expose him to the post modern world, radio, plastic, cars. Next morning, the Foundation comes pick up the homunculus and mind wipe everyone. gives it its identification number and bring him back at a research complex.


End file.
